How to Improve the Running Game?

September 30th, 20127:59 am

Brian Bassett , TheJetsBlog.com

It’s no secret that the Jets have not been as successful running the ball as they could be. This weekend they are going to take on another very tough opponent when it comes to running the ball in the Niners and their excellent linebacking corps. Here’s some thoughts on how they can continue to push forward even this weekend against Patrick Willis and the Niners.

The Education of Austin Howard — Given the situation that the Jets put Austin Howard in to earn the starting job away from Wayne Hunter, he’s performed well enough so far. Howard has put together some nice blocks and while still making some mistakes from time to time, is playing decently. At the very least Howard is no worse than Hunter was and could yet prove to be a more dominant force in the running game. The Jets need to continue to focus on Howard’s development and using their backups like Jason Smith during the course of the game to help Howard avoid costly mistakes.

Moving On? — Instead Rex Ryan telling the world that Shonn Greene deserves to be the team’s lead back, let him prove it – or rather let some of the other guys try and disprove it. The line isn’t playing amazing football, but it’s not playing so bad that Greene has nothing to do with it. Greene has performed extremely poorly, averaging just 2.8 yards per carry. So who’s it going to be? While we understand that the McKnight move to cornerback was a desperate play given the dire situation this week, the Jets are moving one of their best pass catching runners right out of a spot where he could be quite effective for the Jets every week … and this weekend in particular. Bilal Powell has more than proven he’s a capable contributing player for the Jets so look to see how many reps he gets compared to Greene this weekend. It might be too soon to activate a player like Jonathan Grimes since he’s just picking up the offense, but the Jets must think highly enough of him to have put in a waiver claim on him back at cutdowns which they then rescinded. Of course, then again Grimes could also represent nothing more than intel on their next week opponent.

Stop It Already With the Ducasse Nonsense — Last week the Jets gave Vlad Ducasse rotational play the Left Guard spot. Right now the Jets interior of the line is not playing any better than the overall unit, so why continue it? Lineman crave consistency and rotating an interior player every third series is not helping matters. The Jets need to make a call at the spot and play one or the other. So why do they continue to do it? Because the Jets are staring at unrestricted free agency for both Matt Slauson and Brandon Moore next offseason.

Find a Role for Tebow — Tebow was brought in to be this change of pace player for the Jets, and so far the team has barely used him in the Wildcat role that was so important to the Jets to trade for him in the first place. The thought was that Tebow creates a threat because he might actually throw the ball. So far Tebow hasn’t attempted a pass out of his spread option / Wildcat package so far this season. Last week the Jets saw 12 snaps, many as an H-Back … while the team doesn’t see Tebow as a tailback, is there any way that the Jets can move their Wildcat/Spread Option forward?

with the second and third rounds coming up in about 7 hours that should give the gm experts here plenty of time to post their criticisms before the picks and save us the time of reading them after the fact, in the interest of saving time of course.

People kill the Browns for moving up one spot with the Vikings from 9th to picking 8th (Gilbert CB), but the fact remains that in making that trade, they only had to give up a 5th round pick to make that move, which seemed like a reasonable price to pay to get the player they really wanted. Fast forward to the Titans on the clock at pick 11...

1. Why didn't the Giants offer a similar package to the Titans to move up for Lewan *IF* Lewan was more highly rated on their own board?

2. *IF* Beckham was more highly rated by the Giants than Aaron Donald, WHY didn't the Giants drop back one spot with the Rams and ACQUIRE a similar pick and THEN draft Beckham? If not the Rams, then why not the Bears at #14? There were rumors of the Bears interest in Donald, and even the Steelers and Cowboys have had their names associated prior to the draft with Donald. Was there ANY attempt at all by the Giants to trade back between #13 - #16 (Rams, Bears, Steelers, Cowboys) so they still could have picked Beckham or someone comparable WR??

Just staying put and picking "the guy you wanted all along" is the same as wearing horse blinders. It's tunnel vision. And ultimately, it leaves the Giants with less options than they should be having. Beckham may very well turn into a better player than Nicks was for us, but Reese's lack of understanding how to manipulate a draft board to the teams greater benefit contributes to the lack of impact the Giants receive from the draft.

@spider43 All valid questions. For a team that has multiple spots to fill, an extra late pick or two wouldn't have hurt. Did anyone ask Reese, or anyone else in the organization if moving down a slot or two was an option?

For all we know, calls were made, and a deal was just not about to be made.

But since Tennessee took Lewan, I doubt they would've traded down, knowing how much the Giants coveted him. But moving down a slot was definitely an option. Unless there was heavy interest in ODB by St. Louis.

So Beckham's just like Cruz as a WR and just like Demps and Holliday as a KO and punt return man. So unless the Giants plan to consolidate and trade those 3 players to fill other needs why was it necessary to take a redundant player 3 ways at #12?

Can't complain anymore the pick happened this is who we got and where we got him. His comparison is Reggie Wayne so all we can do now is hope. Would have loved to have traded back with the Dolphins and picked up Benjamin instead but what can you do.

Right...and also, in order to trade back you obviously need a team that's willing to trade with you at that point in time. If the Giants did consider trading back, we certainly wouldn't be let in on that information. At this point we just need to trust what the Giants did even though most of us feel they should of done something else with this pick. If Beckham ends up with Victor Cruz type numbers we will all be happy. If he ends up having Mario Manningham type numbers we will be very disappointed. All we know is that we haven't been happy with Reese's last couple of drafts so our trust in him isn't as high as it should be...

@fast_eddie .... Exactly. My trust in Reese is nearly gone. Over the last 3 years, the 1st round picks he has made to me have made no sense. Just because a player (Pugh) turns out to be good doesn't mean he wasn't a reach. That good player could have still been had later in the draft. NO ONE other than Mike Mayock had Pugh rated as highly. The Giants most likely could have traded down and acquired more picks and still got Pugh. The same possibly held true for Beckham last night as well. Even if someone picked Beckham ahead of the Giants, there was still plenty of quality WR's available yet to be picked from who would have been adequate alternatives. Instead of "buying low" on Beckham, they paid "full price" for him.

I'm not going to say Beckham was a classic "reach" pick, but I will say that they didn't do themselves any favors picking him there at #12 *IF* they could have traded down instead.

@bleedblue4 .... I hope not. Funny thing though, he might actually be the best player available at that point, but not a "need". I wouldn't want to see the Giants pick Lee. I would rather they went for a OL or TE there.

I feel like we fans say this every year "it's no that I don't love the player, I just don't know why they didn't move out and get him or a comparable player later." Well I'm saying it again, 3 years in a row.

Gmen needed to replace Knicks and legacy of Plax with a big target not a guy who is in the Cruz, Jernigan mold. Also if he is so good and valuable probably do not want to use him as a kick returner. Don't those guys usually get mortally wounded on that duty?

@rico Look at more film on Beckham. Remember, he was a star in the SEC, which is the best league in college football. He's fast, smart with good hands. A great rout runner and is not afraid to fight for the football. He's also durable for his size. They need to keep Victor in the slot, and Beckham will do that.

"The Giants never lack conviction. The issue is whether this is the right way to handle the draft, and specifically a pick as high as No. 12. If you're going to lock in on one player you love, and there's "no way" you're going to pass him up, then you're not really maximizing the value of your resource.

If your draft strategy is to scout players and pick the one you love the best, then your entire draft rests on the development of that player into a great one. If you miss, it's a total miss, with nothing to mitigate it. This is the problem with the Giants' recent drafts -- not just that they've consistently missed in the third round and later (and a few critical times in the second), but that they haven't done enough to protect themselves against poor evaluation. They almost never maneuver to amass more picks and play the percentages. They lock in on a guy they and their scouts like and they take him, believing he'll be great, totally hanging themselves out to dry if he's not.

So Beckham may well become a transcendent, No. 1-type wide receiver, worthy of the No. 12 pick. But the way the board went, they could have gotten him or a comparable player later. The draft is deep with wide receivers, and only one more was taken in the 15 picks that followed theirs."

@jwill Making the argument that based on the way the board went, they could have gotten him or a comperable player is a circular argument.

If we change the draft, and the Giants stay at 12 and take another player, or they drop back - it means Beckham is available at 12 (or 13). Isn't it also reasonable to assume that his value may have had other teams take him there?

The mock drafts i saw had the Jets trading up to this point of the draft in order to get Beckham.

I am willing to bet the Giants know a) more about what they need on their team than writers do and b) have access to more information about these players then the writers do as well.

People need to relax - and let's talk in January about how good a pick Beckham is.

@jwill The problem I have with saying Beckham would've been available later because only 1 WR was taken in the next 15 picks is that could just prove Beckham was that much better than the next available WR. Just because all those teams after the Giants didn't take a WR doesn't mean they wouldn't have taken Beckham.

I think you're missing the point of Graziano's words, that the Giants fixate on on a player they like and ignore the circumstances around that pick and the best practices of this exercise that we call the draft:

-wr is a secondary need for the Giants

-theres great wrs throughout the draft

-OBJ did not represent value at that point in the draft

-and you left some guys on the board who project to have a higher impact on the game.

In 3 years theres a good chance that OBJ will be a good WR. So will Lee and Lattimer out of the 2nd round. So will 3 and 4th rounders even 7th and UDFAs. Its not the one issue that is the problem, its the convergence of several analytical failures.

Finally, I'll say this: There is a reason that players are ranked. The draft is not as simple as, "i like that guy the best."

@jwill Dan is on the money with Reese and his philosophy. Too many times we lose out on value because of Reese's inability to not buy high. Scouts should scout and GM's should treat drafts like the stock market buy low sell high. Reese is continuously buying high it just does n't make business sense.